George G Ealer

Title: George G Ealer
RivermenandRiverboats > Steamboat Pilots > Steamboat Pilots	Go to subcategory：

Author	Content

Rank：none
Score：220
Posts：220
From：USA
Register：11/11/2008 8:17 AM

Date Posted：02/17/2009 6:31 AMCopy HTML

George G. Ealer lived from 1829-1866. George
was the co-pilot on the steamboats Pennsylvania
and Alfred T. Lacey on which Sam Clemens was
a cub pilot. He doubtlessly influenced the cub's
education by readin the classics aloud to the cub
pilot (Shakespeare and Oliver Goldsmith were
his bibles). Clemens recalled arguing the author-
ship of the Shakespeare plays and for the sake of
discussion Clemens took the position that Francis
Bacon was the author maintaining that Shake-
speare lacked the background in law. Among
Ealer's other accomplishments were playing chess
and the flute. George Ealer is probably the most
famous chess-playing flautist in American literature.
Clemens worked on the Pennsylvania with Ealer
in November, 1857 and from February 6 to June
5 in 1858. Occasionally during his layovers in
New Orleans--Sam Clemens would work at night
guarding freight on the docks. He never stopped
writing letters home; some letters encouraged his
younger brother, Henry, to follow in his footsteps.
Sam found him his first job in the river trade as a
clerk.
Henry was a 20-year old boy, intelligent and hand-
some of whom Sam was justifiably proud. Henry
was third clerk of the Pennsylvania. The pilots were
George Ealer and William Brown. It was under
Brown whom Sam, unfortunately, was the cub pilot.
Brown was a middle-aged, long, slim, bony, smooth-
shaven, fault-finding, mote-magnifying tyrant; and
from the moment the boat left St. Louis he made
Sam's life unbearable. Henry and George Ealer
helped somewhat to ease the pressures of Brown's
unceasing criticisms.
One day on the downriver trip to New Orleans,
Brown missed a freight landing and blamed Henry
for not calling out the landing loud enough, even
though everyone heard Henry make the call. In
confronting the young clerk Brown struck him. In a
rage of temper Sam Clemens grabbed a stool and
struck Brown. He then jumped on the pilot and
pounded him until he was pulled off.
The event could have ended his career but everyone
on board, including the captain, supported Sam. He
was called into the cabin by the captain and advised
to lay for Brown ashore.
Sam was offered Brown's place as the regular pilot
on the return trip aboard the Pennsylvania but he did
not feel he was ready for the responsibility. The
captain secured passage for Sam's return to St. Louis
aboard the Alfred T. Lacey.
The "Lacey" started up the river two days behind
the "Pennsylvania". We touched at Greenville,
Mississippi, a couple of days out, and somebody
shouted---
The "Pennsylvania" is blown up at Ship Island,
and a hundred and fifty lives lost!!
This is the sorrowful story--
It was six o'clock on a hot summer morning. The
"Pennsylvania" was creeping along, north of Ship
Island, about sixty miles below Memphis on a half-
head of steam, towing a wood-flat which was fast
being emptied. George Ealer was in the pilot-house
alone I think;.........
The wood being nearly all out of the flat now, Ealer
rang to "come ahead" full steam, and the next
moment four of the eight boilers exploded with a
thunderous crash, and the whole forward third of
the boat was hoisted toward the sky! The main part
of the mass, with the chimneys, dropped upon the
boat again, a mountain of riddled and chaotic rubbish
and then, after a little, fire broke out.
Many people were flung to considerable distances,
and fell in the river.
When George Ealer saw the chimneys plunging aloft
in front of him, he knew what the matter was; so he
muffled his face in the lapels of his coat, and pressed
both hands there tightly to keep this protection in
its place so that no steam could get to his nose or
mouth. He had ample time to attend to these details
while he was going up and returning. He presently
landed on top of the unexploded boilers, forty feet
below the former pilot-house, accompanied by his
wheel and a rain of other stuff, and enveloped in a
cloud of scalding steam. All of the many who
breathed that steam died; none escaped. But
Ealer breathed none of it. He made his way to
the free air as quickly as he could; and when
the steam cleared away he returned and climbing
up on the boilers again, and patiently hunted out
each and everyone of his chessmen and the
several joints os his flute.
Henry Clemens was asleep when he was blown
up, then fell back on the hot boilers, and I
suppose that rubbish fell on him, for he is in-
jured internally. He got in the water and swam
to shore.
In a letter to his sister-in-law, Mollie, Sam writes,
For forty-eight hours I labored at the bedside
of my poor burned and bruised, but uncomplaining
brother, and then the star of my hope went out
and left me in the gloom of despair.
He blamed himself for Henry's death; for having
urged him to take the job on the Pennsylvania
and for the fight with Brown which led to his
absence when the steamboat blew up. He bore
the burden all his life; only after fifty years
could he bear to tell the story of that tragic
night when the star of my hope went out.
George G. Ealer died of tuberculosis at the age
of 37 on December 10, 1866. He is interred in
Bellefontaine Cemetery in the lot purchased
by his brother, Henry. There are twelve in-
terments in the lot but only one weather-worn
marble marker. George's grave is among the
unmarked.
Henry A. Ealer was also a pilot and the builder
of the steamboats H. D. Bacon, Planet and
J. H. Oglesby. His personal river experiences,
in the form of letter, are in "Gould's History
of River Navigation."
George G. Ealer is located in the Bellefontaine
Cemetery in Block 67, Lot 484.

The image used on this page is from my own
personal cd collection. The information that I
have on this page was compiled through
genealogy research and some information was
taken from resources through the Bellefontaine
Cemetery records.

Rank：none
Score：220
Posts：220
From：USA
Register：11/11/2008 8:17 AM

Re：George G Ealer

Date Posted：07/27/2010 2:13 PMCopy HTML

 Thank you for such a wonderful presentation.  There was another pilot by the name of George Ealer.  He was also born in 1830.  He is enumerated in the 1860 US Census in New Orleans.  Also, a 14 mo. old George Ealer died in New Orleans in 1851.

Rank：none
Score：220
Posts：220
From：USA
Register：11/11/2008 8:17 AM

Re：George G Ealer

Date Posted：08/24/2010 7:02 AMCopy HTML

That is very interesting information. Thank you so much!  I had no idea. Feel free to comment anytime. 
Suzanne a.k.a. Fiddlinsue

Rank：none
Score：220
Posts：220
From：USA
Register：11/11/2008 8:17 AM

Re：George G Ealer

Date Posted：11/29/2010 5:53 AMCopy HTML

 The above academy award-nominated French extra sits on a hard-sided replica handbags attache in an age-old railway station. What’s do you think? Both the iconic damier canvas and beginning damier azur canvas accompany different airy breeding to these adequate thongs. Personally I accede the damier canvas abundant added acceptable for men while the damier azur archetypal women’s style. 